Dance of the Gundanium Faeries
by Cabbitshivers
Summary: Duo somehow manages to convince the other pilots to write letters to Father Christmas. What sort of mayhem awaits them in the morning when they awake and find presents on the ends of their beds? [2x5]
1. Quatre

Letter to Santa #1

Burned on Dec 24th, 19:58hrs.

Subject: Quatre Raberba Winner.

Age: 16

Dear Father Christmas, 

I'm unsure as to how comfortable I feel writing a letter to someone I've never really even heard of until most recently. In fact, I first heard of you today over the breakfast table to be exact - though if you are as omniscient as Duo has said then you all ready know this and the events that lead up to me writing this letter to you. I suppose you're wondering why I have even written this to you, as usually Christmas Lists (so I have been so studiously informed by Duo) are composed of what one wants for Christmas, not what one wants others to have for Christmas. Though the offer is great, I cannot really think of anything I could want for the holidays except for peace, and I know for certain that that is beyond your jurisdiction. After all, even if OZ does not remain active on Christmas Day there's no guarantee that the scientists are going to let us have the day off, although I'm sure we all could use a few days of rest. Duo may think I'm being "hennish" when I worry, but if you saw how little food he and Wufei ate then you'd understand. And wish that they ate more, like I do. Oops. . . you probably do – that is if Duo is right about you. I'm still a little unsure on how burning this letter will make my wishes reach you, but if Duo says it does, then who am I to argue?

I'm unsure of where to start, so I think with the first of us would be best. Heero rarely receives any kind of affection with ease, so I wish him to become aware of the love and friendship we all feel towards him. He thinks it's dangerous to feel such things, and he buries them beneath the Soldier in him, but I believe if just once he allows himself to feel what we do towards him, then he'll always have that to carry around with him. I hope that way he won't be so hasty to self-destruct again. Yes, I am sneaky.

For Duo I wish. . . everything he wants. He's missed out on so much in his life, and has been carrying around the guilt of other peoples' evils on his shoulders with no rest for longer than he should be able to bear. For him I wish that he receives what he wants with no price attached. I'm paying his tab. 

Trowa. I wish him his name. 

And finally, Wufei's Christmas wish. I wish Wufei . . . a home that he can return too once this war is over. His has been destroyed, and I know that even if I offer him mine he will refuse out of his honour and his dignity. He will fear to accept, so I wish him a home he cannot say 'no' to. Preferably, one with Duo.

Yes. I am devious.

I know I should probably add more wishes for all of my sisters, and for the Manguanacs and Rashid who are so priceless to me, but that might take too long, and their happiness I pray for every evening regardless of the season. This letter and these wishes will remain solely for us. This is my wish.

Yours sincerely,

Quatre.


	2. Wu Fei

Letter to Santa #2

Burned on Dec 24th, 20:12hrs.

Subject: Chang Wu Fei.

Age: 15

To Saint Nicholas, 

I have absolutely no idea why Maxwell has insisted on us writing these letters to a fictional character of one of Earth's Western cultures. Sometimes, though I am loath to admit it, his wild ideas and frivolous nature are beyond my ability to comprehend. However, seeming that Maxwell has insisted rather vigorously that we write our Christmas wishes and then burn them this very night, I find myself doing so – hence this letter to one non-existent Santa Claus. I will blame this on Maxwell and his daunting ability to merge fantasy and fiction with reality in such a way that it appears natural. I will also blame this on the way I find myself less and less able to say 'no' to him when he 'looks' at me. I believe I now understand why Yuy refuses to pay him any attention. I envy him his ability.

I wish for many things, futile as it may seem. One among the many is for this war to be brought to an end. It has continued on for way too long, and I am sick of it. I wish to be free of it all. I wish for my colony to have not vanished in a flash before me, for my clan to have had none of their courage for just one day so that they could have lived. I wish for none of this to have ever befallen upon me. I wish for Meiran to still be alive. I wish… It doesn't matter. Futile things, are my wishes.

Regardless of the futility, I have still written them down in this letter that will never reach its intended because that someone is one who does not exist. Maxwell has asked me too – that is his wish – and I cannot bring myself to disobey. Those are my wishes, my fantasies. I'd like to see you try to make them part of reality.

Chang Wufei


	3. Trowa

Letter to Santa #3

Burned on Dec 24th, 21:17hrs.

Subject: Trowa Barton.

Age: 16

To Pierre Noel,

1) 2 rounds of 20k 5" exploding "Wolfwood" ammunition for Heavyarms.

2) Sheet music from late 2oth Century stage musicals.

3) 2x2" whetstone.

4) Vanilla flavoured milk biscuits.

- Nanashi


	4. Heero

Letter to Santa #4

Burned on Dec 24th, 22:44hrs.

Subject: Odin Lowe.

Age: 16

"Father Christmas"

You do not exist. 

The Earth's North Pole is an illogical place for you to have your base of operations. You would be wiser to set up your workshop on the continent of Antarctica where you will be closer to the first country to experience night. 

I have nothing to wish for, except the complete disappearance of Relena Peacecraft and her pink limousine. However, you do not exist so I will have to find other ways to make her go away.

"Heero Yuy"


	5. Duo

Letter to Santa #5

Burned on Dec 24th, 23:30hrs.

Subject: Duo Maxwell.

Age: 16?

Dear Santa,

Merry Christmas ya old bugger! Welcome to Shinigami's Christmas List Version AC196! Yeah, yeah, I know I'm getting a little too old to be doing this, and I'm sure that by now you're getting tired of having to deal with my letters every year, but hey – it's a tradition! And you don't just go breaking traditions just coz one old guy's getting tired of hearing some long-haired baka rattle on about everything that's going on in his life. Oh, yeah. 'Baka' is what Heero calls me all the time. He's Japanese, and I think it means something like 'stupid' or 'idiot' or somethin'. I dunno, Japanese was one of the two languages that I wasn't good at getting at all. The other one was Mandarin, so that kinda leaves me with the stinky end of the rotting stick when it comes to insult wars with 'Fei, coz he can understand what I'm calling him but I have little or no idea what he's saying to me. I think I really better start working on that. One day I really wanna surprise him by saying something really long and insulting to him in the middle of one of our 'wars' and see the expression of surprise wash over his face. Yeah, I know. Like he'd ever show anything other than contempt towards me, but still… it would be somethin' to see.

Eh, guess what! I got the other guys to write letters too! And I know they've done 'em coz I could smell the burning paper when I walked down the hall half an hour ago. I hope they got to you all right, even though I know that it's not possible coz you don't exist an' all that. Man, it must suck having all these kids believing in you when you're suffering with an eternal case of being non-existent. Oh, yeah, and I think I better apologize for whatever Heero stuck in his letter coz it's bound to be something short and insulting, just like him. Only I think that 'Fei might be shorter than him. Probably only by a few inches, 'sidering he's the youngest out of all of us, but yeah… I think Heero is quite a bit taller… Anyway, he's still insulting, so I apologize for anything he said that makes you wanna kill him. He seems to be pretty good at that.

So yeah, the first wish on Shinigami's Christmas List is… the entire Museum Collection of Guns & Ammo on laser disc for the Perfect Soldier's collection of anything that has anything to do with war, weapons, and blowing things up. Oh, and all the Tom Clancy novels you can get your hands on. I caught him reading the cover of one of the laser disc versions about a month ago, and he seemed rather interested, not to mention I caught the end of a movie from one of Clancy's books in this old cinema I was forced to hide out in a week and a half ago. It was called "The Hunt for the Red October" or something, and it definitely looked like the kinda thing I'd pictured Heero going to see. Though, picturing Heero going to see anything at the movies does require an imagination that's not thwarted by the Death Glare and has the ability to go beyond the reaches of what's classed as "Man, that's just too weird!" Hehehe… anyway, onwards!

Next wish on Shinigami's Christmas List is for a visit from one of Quatre's sisters or two. I know it's dangerous haven' them around and such, but I think he's really missing his family and the Manguanacs… it's been about three months since the Fez Patrol last burst in and saved Quatre's and the rest of our asses, and I'm kinda missin' old Rashid, too. The kitty's used to being around a lot of people, and I've been noticing that he's been gettin' a little down lately, today especially. I've hardly ever seen a frown on Q's face, but this morning the one I saw there was really potent. I kinda felt like crying for the guy and whatever was making him sad. A sad Quatre equals an easily-annoyed Quatre, not to mention an unhappy Trowa, which makes an unhappy me coz I don't like seeing any of my friends unhappy, which makes 'Fei pissy coz he hates mopey people, which ultimately makes Heero very annoyed because 'Fei can be  extremely vocal when in rant-mode. So yes, must do all we can to cheer Q-ball back up, and family is the best way! Oh, oh! And those bladey-things Sandrock fights with! What are they called again? Well whatever they are, I want Quatre to have a set. If he can fight with giant versions using his Gundam, I can't wait to see how he handles normal-sized ones with his hands! Judging by the way Sandrock swings those things, he's definitely had prior experience. I wonder why I've never seen him practising with a pair?

Anyway, the third wish on Shinigami's Christmas List Version AC196 is a visit from Catherine. (Trowa's been looking a little down lately, too, but that's probably more due to Quatre's unhappiness than anything concerning Trowa, himself.) Also, a new set of throwing knives. I saw this great set down at an estate jewellery store in the town a few miles from here. They had these exquisite ebony and ivory handles with white and blue silver Harlequin masks pressed into the hilts. I checked the price and they were really expensive, and I was gonna go down and buy them for Tro-tro, but we've been sanctioned up in this farm house for the past week with nothing but missions filling up the times between bathroom visits, so the opportunity to buy any chrissy pressies has been denied me by the cruel and unjustified mission planning of The Mads. Oh, that reminds me – the Mad Scientists might be needing a little more secure sponsorship at this point, and probably large amounts of chocolate… they've been a little grumpy lately in their communications with us. Probably a lack of girlfriends, and an overabundance of Doctor J's ranting. I've only heard him once, but he sounds even worse than 'Fei on a bad day.

Moving right along… hey, boy – this letter is HEAPS longer than last years one. Last year all I asked for was a pack of hair-ties and some lock pics.

Shinigami's Christmas Lists' fourth wish is a new paint job for Shenlong. Don't make it something tacky or anything, like what I did to Heero's Gundam two months ago. No, Nataku requires something a lot more meaningful, that defends and enforces the name 'Fei has given it. Something traditional, but with style. With lots of green and silver and maybe a dragon or two. Oh, and a new scabbard for 'Fei-Fei's sword… the old sheath was lookin' a little battered last time I saw it and had what looked to be a whole new collection of scars. If I didn't know better I'd say Wu-man had started challenging Trieze to fights with it instead of the blade! That's not funny… Man, the determination he has to fight Khushrenada scares me… Wish I had the courage to tell him how I feel about that.

Anyway… TOTALLY off-topic here! Back to business! 

And the fifth and final wish on Shinigami's Christmas List is… drum roll, please… 

NO MISSIONS TOMORROW!!!

Thankyou, Merry Christmas, and goodnight!

'Till next year, Red!

Gundam-hugs, tinsel and mistletoe,

Duo Maxwell.


	6. Cold Morning

**DANCE OF THE GUNDANIUM FAIRIES**

.

.

.

"Duo…" 

Duo was floating in a warm, blissful place when a sharp, annoyingly familiar voice cut through his marshmallow and cappuccino dreamland. It tore through his peaceful slumber, ripping him from the warm arms of his dream lover, and depositing him directly into the hard, blue-eyed glare of one Heero Yuy. 

"Duo!" He repeated. 

Duo blinked lazily, then grinned up at his fellow pilot. "G'mornin', Hee-ro!" He cheered, slurring. "Ya know what t'day is?" 

Heero eyed the boy on his bed suspiciously. "It's Christmas." 

"Merry Christmas, Hee-ro!" 

The cobalt eyes above him blinked, one of his brows quirking up, along with a corner of his lip. "Hn. Merry Christmas, Duo." 

Sleepy indigo eyes that until now had been lazily half-lidded suddenly shot open with an almost audible snap, the prone body practically buried within the bed jerking up out of it as if the soft, warm covers had suddenly become as cold as ice. "Guess what?!" The braided boy cried, leaping off his bed and onto Heero's with one solitary bound that brought him into direct line-of-sight with Heero's laptop. 

Heero eyed the boy warily. "You forgot the tree?"

"No!" Duo scolded, his brows drawing down, bouncing at the edge of Heero's pristinely made bed. Heero's brow quirked a little higher. "Well, yeah," Duo quickly amended. "But that was 'cause it was too cold and there aren't any pine trees around here. But that's not what I meant!" He spun around and leapt down to the floor, pulling out the chair in front of Heero's laptop and firmly ensconcing himself onto its hard unyielding surface. "Oooh, Heero…" He whined, squirming a little. "You need cushions, or something… this chair is COLD!" 

"Hn. Baka." 

"Anyway," Duo continued, still squirming in the chair but now rapidly opening files and skirting around the Perfect Soldier's Guardian programmes. "We received a message last night, just after I finished cleaning up the ashes from my letter to Santa." 

"Duo…" The Japanese boy growled, brows drawing down into a scowl and fixing his glare on the back of the braided boys head. He didn't know how he should deal with the braided idiot playing with **HIS** laptop - it wasn't so much of a worry, and he **could** trust that the baka wouldn't break anything, but the fact that they'd received a message and he had **NOT** been alerted… "Nande-…" 

"Relax!" The American pilot shot a charming grin over his shoulder. "It wasn't a mission, or anything. Just a small message wishing us all a 'Merry Christmas, and stay out of trouble the next two days.'…" Finding what he was looking for, the braided pilot maximised the window, enlarged the text, spun around on the chair, and almost tipped over as one of the wooden legs wobbled loosely in its joint. "We have Christmas and Boxing Day off!" 

Heero blinked. "Nani?" He asked. 

Duo, still grinning as though the war was over, repeated his jubilant cry of a moment ago. "The Mad Scientists gave us a holiday! No more missions for two days!" 

Heero managed to blink again before streaking [1] around the bed to Duo's side and peering over his shoulder to glare at the screen of his laptop. "Kono yaro…" He muttered quietly, almost below Duo's hearing. "The holidays is the perfect time-" 

"Heero!" 

Heero turned his head slightly to meet the hard, narrowed glare of the pilot beside him. "OZ is weaker during holidays." He said almost accusingly. 

The frown on Duo's face and the glare in his eyes deepened to almost canyon proportions. "You and Wing have been out there every day for the past two weeks!" He borderline yelled. "You need this holiday more than any of us, so shut up and take it!" 

Heero stared at Duo, eyes slightly wider than they had been, pupils slightly more contracted than a moment ago, and after a long moment of silence, they closed. Duo blinked in surprise as he saw the small, amused smile begin to form on the Japanese pilots lips. "Hai, ofukuro..." The tousle-haired boy replied in a slightly mocking but clearly non-insulting voice. "I will do what you say." The eyes opened and focused their amused depths on the startled indigo stare of the other pilot. "Baka." 

"Oi!" Duo didn't know if he should be surprised or insulted. Settling for neither, he just threw his hands up into the air and grinned. "Yes, love you too, Heero! Now I am going to go and wake up the others to share the good news!" So saying, he bounded up off the chair and launched himself across the room. 

"Better head for the kitchen!" Heero called after him, feeling the smile still pulling at his lips. "They have been awake for the past half hour… It's nine hundred hours, Duo." He added at the braided pilot's questioning look as he paused in his act of almost pulling the door handle off in his exuberance. 

"Eh?!" Duo's eyes widened to a freakishly large state. "And you didn't tell me earlier?! Heero!" At Heero's satisfied smirk he scowled. "Omae o korosu!" He bellowed, before yanking the door open and speeding down the hall and heading for where the other pilots were gathered, probably eating all his sugarcoated breakfast cereal. He almost tumbled down the stairs in his haste to bellow the good news to everyone, skidding into the kitchen with excess momentum and narrowly missing the table where both Wufei and Quatre were sitting, Wufei with an almost overflowing plate of bacon, omelette and buttered toast, and Quatre eyeing every bite that the oriental pilot pushed past his lips with unconcealed suspicion. "Whoa!" He shouted; getting everyone's undivided attention by gripping onto Trowa and almost making him drop the bowl of caramelised oatmeal he carried. "Merry Christmas!" 

"Merry Christmas." Trowa replied quietly, steadying Duo on his feet before moving to sit at the table opposite Quatre. 

"Merry Christmas, Duo." Quatre greeted sweetly, bringing the rim of his teacup to his lips and gifting him with a small, tired smile. "Did you sleep well?" 

"Like a log." The braided teen replied, strolling over to a cupboard and pulling out a bowl and the box of his sugar-frosted candy-flakes. "You guys?" He wandered around the kitchen, grabbing a spoon from the drawer and the almost expired chocolate milk from the refrigerator. 

"Very well, thank you." The blonde Arabian replied, sharing a small, quick smile with the uni-banged teenager sitting across from him. 

"Well enough." Wufei answered between forkfuls, the crown of his head receiving numerous concerned stares about his state of out-of-character ness. Wufei almost ** never** ate anything in the mornings. 

Duo watched him concernedly for a moment, before shrugging and plonking himself down at the table across from him. Pouring a large amount of his cereal into the bowl he set down and then liberally drowning it with the chocolate milk, he was also unaware of the two concerned stares that met just above his bowed head, soon joined by a third pair as the Japanese pilot finally made his way back downstairs and paused in the doorway at the strange sight of both Chang and Maxwell eating at the table this early in the morning. 

"Eh," Duo said around the first mouthful of his food, oblivious to the confused stares that he was receiving. "I have a surprise." 

Immediately all eyes fixed on him, Wufei ceasing in his chewing to fix an almost trepid stare on the pilot sitting across from him. Duo was well known for the dubious nature of his surprises… and Wufei **really** didn't want to know what the lanky, indigo-eyed pilot had in store for them all this morning… 

Duo's eyes flashed mischievously as he looked up over his food at the other pilots. He opened his mouth, either to spill his surprise to them all or to accept another spoonful of his odd-coloured cereal, but was cut off from doing either when Heero spoke up from the doorway. 

"The Scientists have given us the next two days on leave." 

Two spoons, a fork, and a teacup all clattered to the table simultaneously. "What?/Really?/The hell…?" 

"Heero! That was **MY** surprise!" 

"Merry Christmas." 

Indigo eyes glared as spoons, forks and teacups all resumed their previous motions. "I hate you." 

"Hn. Baka." 

"Pbbbbttttttt!" Duo was suddenly distracted from his raspberry by a small, rectangular-shaped powdery biscuit that Trowa pulled from out of a plastic-wrapped brick. "What's that?" He asked the uni-banged pilot as he bit into the slightly yellow-looking biscuit. 

"Vanilla milk biscuit." Trowa replied. "Noel left them for me." 

"Noel?" 

"You asked me to write a letter to him last night." He turned his head slightly to look at the pilot sitting beside him. "I asked him for vanilla-flavoured milk biscuits and when I awoke they were at the end of my bed." He instantly became concerned as he watched Duo's face slowly begin to change colour, his eyes loosing focus and appearing glassy. "Was that not supposed to happen? Duo?" 

Duo spluttered silently… _Noel_?… that was another name for Santa Clause, wasn't it?… and Trowa asked for vanilla-flavoured milk biscuits… No missions – **he** had asked for no missions! …Heero was acting strange – **smiling** even! And Wufei was eating breakfast… Wu-**FEI** was eating **breakfast**! Nah… couldn't be. Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah. Trowa was just playing a joke on him… had to be… Yep. He didn't exist, after all… Ha-ha, very funny. 

"Duo? Duo, are you all right?" Quatre was at his side instantly. 

Choking, Duo forced his voice to work. "Yes." He squeaked. "Yeah, I'm - I'm all right. Just peachy. Man, Trowa! Don't force that on me like that!" He mock-glared at the other pilot. 

"Force what?" Trowa looked genuinely concerned. 

"That Father Christmas gave you milk biscuits!" 

Trowa's visible brow arched slightly. "But he did. And he left me a whetstone, some sheet music, and a set of remarkably well-made throwing knives that I didn't ask for, as well." 

Duo spluttered loudly. "Don't lie to me, Trowa!" He half-shouted. "Santa Clause is a myth! A historical figure all blown out of proportion! He doesn't exist! He - what?" Duo blinked rapidly, unsure if what he heard was actually what he heard at all. "…throwing knives?" 

Trowa's visible emerald eye was wide, but he nodded. 

"Ebony and Ivory handles? Platinum and blue silver Harlequin masks on the hilts?" 

Trowa nodded again. "How…" His quiet voice thinned and trailed away. "…He doesn't exist?" 

Duo sat back down heavily upon his seat, his eyes wide with a myriad of emotions that were echoed on everyone else's faces. "He **shouldn't**." Duo replied. "Santa Clause is based upon the historical martyr Saint Nicholas who used to give out gifts of food and sweets to villagers and neighbours on the day of Christ's birth… He **shouldn't **exist."[?] 

"Then… how do you…?" Quatre trailed off, unable to finish the question. 

"Ehhhh~" Was all Duo could manage, eyes still wide and face still pale. "Heero, did you have anything on your bed when you woke up this morning?" 

Heero nodded, his brows drawn down low to a point just above the bridge of his nose. "The entire laserdisc collection of Guns & Ammo, and a box set of Tom Clancy novels. They weren't on my bed, though, they were on the chair in front of my laptop." 

Duo nodded vaguely. "I hope you like them." He murmured, still somewhat in shock. "I remembered you liked 'The Sum of All Fears' and it was written by the same guy…" 

Heero's brows rose in surprise and he turned amazed eyes in Duo's direction. "You – you wished them… for me?" He asked. 

A sheepish smile worked its way over Duo's face. "Eh-hehehe… yeah. All my wishes were for you guys. I didn't need anything this year." 

"I-…" The soft voice of Quatre started. "I wished for Duo and Wufei to eat more…" 

"EH?!" 

"Winner! You're the reason I'm stuffing my face?" 

"Hehehe… Well, among other things, of course, but… you guys eat so little, and you do so much, and you're both just **too damn skinny!!!**" Quatre immediately blushed, embarrassed that he'd actually yelled at the two other pilots. "Gomen…" He mumbled, lowering his head. 

"Oops… Mommy-Quatre's at it again…" Duo grinned, stuffing another spoonful of soggy cereal in his mouth to make Quatre feel better for his small outburst. "It's all right, Quatre. We're sorry that we worry you." 

"Yes. My apologies, Winner. I will eat more from now on." Wufei added. 

Quatre offered them both one of his sweetest smiles. "Thank you, guys." 

"Oh, and Quatre," Duo continued after shoving another overflowing spoonful of his breakfast into his mouth. "Did you check the end of your bed this morning, or didn't you bother?" 

Quatre quickly ducked his head to hide a blush, and Wufei caught a glimpse of an equally suspicious dot of colour staining the visible cheek of the tall pilot of Heavyarms. 

"Ah, no." Quatre replied, cheeks flushing pink. "I didn't check." 

A mischievous twinkle started in Duo's blue eyes as a small sneaky smile started at the corners of his lips. "Then maybe you better go look… there should be something there…" 

Quatre was off like a light, gone before Duo could even finish the sentence, leaving only a cool gust of air and four blinking sets of eyes. 

"Whoa." Duo murmured, almost forgetting to put his food in his mouth. "Who knew he could move that fast?" 

"I did." Trowa smirked. 

"Yeah, well you would." 

A shout from upstairs a minute later drew their attention, and it was Duo's turn to smirk as the sound of running footsteps grew louder, staccato hailing as Quatre bounded down the stairs, then skidded into the kitchen, a brilliantly blinding smile on his face as he flung himself across the table and directly into Duo, knocking the other pilot and his chair backwards onto the floor. 

"Thank you!" The taller boy squealed, giving the grounded Deathscythe pilot an enthusiastic hug. "Thank you, thank you, **thank** you!" 

Duo returned the hug, squeezing the other boy gently before slowly pushing himself up. "You're welcome, Quatre. Though I had very little to do with it…" 

"It was the thought, Duo!" The blonde boy replied, getting up off him and helping him up from the floor. "It was the thought…" Duo was alarmed to find that the other pilot was starting to cry. Before he could think he found himself engulfed in another tight hug, a tear-streaked face buried into his shoulder. "How did you know? M-my father's shotel's… they were stolen a long time ago…" 

Duo's eyes widened. "Those are your **father's** whatchamathingies?" 

Quatre pushed himself back, wiping at his streaming eyes and nodding. "T-they have his name engraved on them… They're my Papa's…" 

"Christ!" Duo swore. "Santa's really done it this year!" He cast a wide-eyed glance around at everyone else, noting their different reactions to the circumstances. Heero was standing just inside the entrance to the doorway, looking entirely shell-shocked… Wufei was still eating, though slower now, and pausing every now and then to flick a quick unreadable glance in his direction… Trowa was dealing with it quite well, having not known that anyone called Santa existed in the first place, then knowing he didn't, then having it refuted… and Quatre, well, he was busy using his eyes to wash the front of Trowa's shirt. "So what else did everybody wish for?" 

"Well," Trowa replied after a moment, rubbing Quatre's back in slow circles as the slightly shorter boy sniffed happily into his chest. "I wished for some ammunition for Heavyarms…" 

"That wouldn't fit on the end of your bed." Heero muttered. 

"It wouldn't even fit in the room!" Duo exclaimed. 

That was when Quatre produced a small piece of folded paper. "This was on my bed." He said quietly, handing it to Trowa. "It has 'Tro-tro' written on the front so I know it's not for me." 

Four curious eyes followed the movements of Trowa's fingers as he opened the tiny slip of paper. 

"Read it out, Tro-tro!" Duo urged. "I wanna hear what old Red has ta say!" 

Trowa nodded, clearing his throat quietly as he finished unfolding the white parchment. He kept his voice calm and smooth as he started to read aloud, getting halfway through the first sentence before abruptly choking off and finding himself unable to stand on his own. 

"Christ!" Duo shouted again for the second time that morning, leaping out of his chair to help settle the suddenly off-balance Trowa back into one of the other chairs around the table. 

"Trowa? Trowa, will you be all right?" Quatre asked, absently rubbing the area over his heart with the heel of his hand. His boyfriend's face was remarkably absent of colour, the one visible emerald-green eye wide with either shock, or disbelief. Visibly, the taller boy swallowed, then as if breaking free of paralysis, he flicked his eye over to Quatre's and nodded, managing a small smile. 

"Yes. I'll be fine in a minute, Quatre." The quiet voice replied. 

Quatre smiled. "Would you like to finish reading the letter, or would you rather I do it?" 

Trowa was silent as he handed the small piece of paper over, his hand shaking ever so slightly. Gently, Quatre took it from him and started to read. 

"'Dear Triton Bloom," Beside him he felt Trowa stiffen again. "I apologize if the name comes as a shock to you, but as it was one of the wishes of another and silently one of your own, I felt that it was something that you needed to hear. Merry Christmas to all of you, Odin, Duo, Triton, Quatre and Wufei…" Quatre trailed off as four heads swivelled to face the Japanese pilot standing shock still by the doorway. 

"'Odin'?" Wufei questioned. 

Heero just shrugged. 

Quatre cleared his throat and continued. "'I have granted you all of your Christmas wishes, all of the ones within my power to grant, and I hope that you find them all to your liking. Especially the second half to one of Wufei's gifts - that took a lot of planning and effort and I'm feeling particularly messy after completing it…'" Quatre looked up from the paper. "What's he talking about?" He asked the pilot in question. 

Wufei just shrugged. "No idea." He replied. 

Duo quickly stuffed another spoonful of cereal into his mouth to hide the grin he knew was going to form there. 

"'I apologize that not all of your presents were waiting for you in your room when you awoke, Triton, but I will assure you now that I did not forget your other Christmas Wish. Your "Wolfwood"s are waiting in the barn with the rest of Fei-fei's presents. Merry Christmas, boys, and have a peaceful New Year. Red.'" 

Quatre slowly put down the note, carefully re-folding it then passing it to a now more normal coloured Trowa. 

Duo blinked. "He called himself 'Red'…" 

"He called me… 'Fei-fei'…" Wufei glowered. 

Heero looked over at Trowa. "When he said 'Wolfwood's, he wouldn't happen to be talking about the 20k exploding 5" rounds, would he?" 

Trowa nodded. "Those are the ones I asked for." 

Heero's eyes widened. "Let's go down to the barn **now**. I want a look at that ammunition."

----- ----- -----

A low whistle sounded from behind Heero as he and Trowa pulled back the large swinging doors of the old barn. 

Contrary to most barn beliefs, although the wood was not painted a deep, rusty red, it was still a barn – the old dried straw that must have come from bales of hay once stored in here that were littering the hard-packed earthen floor were a testimony to this fact. [2] The barn was huge, old, and was the perfect place to store two Gundam's that were in the middle of being repaired. 

The first Gundam visible as the doors opened was Heavyarms; the huge walking tank the one the closest to completing repairs and was therefore at the fore of the barn. Shenlong Kai was crouching behind, cloaked in the midmorning shadow cast by the hulking Gundam kneeling before it. 

Duo whistled again as the group of five moved slowly into the gloomy espoused hangar. "How the hell did **those** fit on his sleigh?" 

"I don't know," Quatre replied, eyeing the two large, cylindrical magazines between Heavyarms's knees that together were bigger than the size of the kitchen. "Maybe he uses a Gundam these days…" 

"It would be logical." Heero remarked, circling around the ammunition and eyeing it with a look that could be as close to wonderment as was possible for him. "But then again, judging by the way he hasn't loaded the ammunition into Heavyarms suggests that he is unfamiliar with them, therefore we can assume he does not use one to deliver presents." 

"Maybe the Tom Clancy novels were not a good idea…" Duo murmured to Quatre, who covered his mouth with a hand to stifle a giggle. 

"I'm going to have to reject the current 16k rounds and readjust the security clips for more storage space." Trowa commented, deep green eye flicking up from the magazines to the closed chest plate of Heavyarms. "These magazines are bigger than the ones I currently use." 

"It shouldn't be a problem, should it?" Heero asked. 

"No. I should only need to lower the secondary fuel tanks two feet, maybe three if it is safe enough. The rest of the space was already there in preparation for larger rounds." The taller pilot replied. 

Heero smirked. "So you were waiting for the 'Wolfwood's, huh?" 

"Oh, yeah." 

"Nataku!" The startled cry drew their attention from the 'Wolfwood' rounds and the two pilots discussing them. Not noticing when it was that Wufei had left the fore of Trowa's mecha, they darted around the limp hands of the kneeling Heavyarms and made a beeline for Wufei's crouching Gundam. 

"I think we're about to find out what Wufei's present was…" Quatre murmured. Duo just sniggered. He couldn't wait to see what Santa had done to Nataku... hopefully, it was everything that Wufei wanted… and didn't include being painted some horrible pink colour that even slightly resembled the chrome of Relena's car. 

Skirting around the side of the crouching Shenlong Kai, they skidded to a halt just behind the Chinese pilot, four sets of eyes drawn to where the fifth were gazing at the muted and subtle colours and patterns that now replaced what were once the bright and bold colours of green and gold. 

"Allah…" Quatre gasped, unable to keep silent at the sight that greeted all five pilots. 

Duo's eyes were wide indigo pools, shifting from limb to limb, shade to shade. "Christ…" He whispered. Father Christmas had really pulled a number on them. This was… this was… well, this was **not** what he'd been expecting… 

"Open the doors, Heero." Duo heard Trowa whisper, and almost instantly that end of the gloomy barn was illuminated as the light from outside flooded in through the opening rear doors and splashing against the tinted metal of Nataku's armour. 

"K'so…" Heero uttered as he turned from the doors and saw what exactly had been done to Shenlong Kai. 

"I don't believe it…" 

"Nataku…" Wufei whispered, taking a hesitant step forward and reaching out a hand as if to touch the crouching metal Gundam. He couldn't believe what he was seeing… Gone were the second colours that Master O had chosen for the deliverer of Justice, the white and the gold… now to be replaced by the shifting tones of emerald green, the shadowed darkness of the nights grass colouring the metal of Nataku's lower legs almost black, the shade steadily lightening as it rose upwards to the hip greaves where it became a steady, even emerald up until the breastplate. The entire length of the arms were black, the flat tone interrupted only by the intricate twining of a red dragon around each limb. "Shin tao…" He hushed, crossing the remaining distance between he and his Gundam and lightly drawing his fingers over the large green dragons coiling up Nataku's legs. 

"The 'Way of the Gods'?" Heero asked, looking confused. 

Wufei glanced over at him, then pointed to the Mandarin on the large Gundam's feet. "Shin tao – the Way of the Gods. And this one is Justice," He replied, flicking his finger at one of the symbols. "These two are Honour and Humility. These are not the true Way of the Gods, but they are mine…" 

There was a long moment of silence, where all the pilots remained still and gazed up at what was once a Gundam War Machine, but was on this morning a subject of hushed awe. The Gundam's were all close to their hearts; each pilot had poured a little of themselves into the giant machines that they fought to free the people of the colonies with… in a sense, they almost reflected themselves. So to have this part of who they were be given such a gift… that had in no way cheapened or raped the spirit of what the Gundam's and their pilots stood for, but rather, in fact, strengthened and made the bond between the two even more clearer… it was, for lack of another word… breathtaking. 

"Who-…" The question started out little more than a broken whisper. Wufei turned slowly to face the other boys, and the four of them were pushed into an even deeper silence at the strange expression showing on the Chinese boy's face. "…Who wished this for me?" 

Duo swallowed convulsively, suddenly very nervous. The question wasn't unexpected, not really, but the thought on how he was going to answer this boy standing before him, swimming in the dust motes that danced within the light the old barn allowed to stream through loose shingles, nameless expressions stroking the familiar face that he had never before seen so **open**… he had no idea. Right now he doubted his tongue could move even if he wanted it to… which he did - **desperately**. He could only watch with a peculiar detachment as three different sets of heads moved slowly to shake their negation, then those shining sloe eyes turn to fix their ebony depths on him. 

"Duo?" Wufei asked quietly. 

Duo slowly regained control of his body, and offered an embarrassed nod to the Chinese boy watching him with an unfathomable gaze. "Aa…" 

"Thank you." 

Duo blinked, unsure whether the other boy had spoken or not, it had been so quiet. "Huh?" 

"Thank you, Duo." 

Before he could blink again the dark-haired boy was in front of him, barely a foot away, then that distance, too, was quickly gone as the other boy closed the space between them by stepping forward and wrapping slim, muscular arms around his waist. "Words cannot tell you how much this means to me." The quiet, emotion-filled voice murmured into his shoulder. 

Duo stood uncertain, fighting the urge to fidget nervously. Now that he had the shorter boy where he'd so often found himself wanting him… he had no idea what to do. Swallowing, acutely aware of how close the other boy was pressed against him, he fought against the more primitive urges in his body and slowly, with almost delicate care, slipped his arms around the narrow but muscular shoulders and returned the Chinese boy's hug. 

"Anything for you, 'Fei." He whispered huskily, just above the other's ear. A moment later he felt him stiffen and begin to pull away, and with a feeling very much like regret he eased his arms from around his shoulders and allowed the other pilot to pull back. God… he'd said too much, hadn't he? 

Slanted sloe eyes stared up at him, large with surprise, and Duo had to restrain himself from pushing a stray strand of silky black hair that had fallen into Wufei's face, back into place. With Wufei looking so wide-eyed and innocent right in front of him it was hard to keep his hands to himself. Abruptly, the dark eyes narrowed, with either anger or suspicion he didn't know, and Duo's heart picked up a pace out of fear of what was coming. He barely even thought to raise his arms to defend from the blow he knew would be heading his way from the angered Chinese pilot, but was sucker-punched instead by the small embarrassed smile and the slow-spreading flush that was tinting the slighter pilot's cheeks a burnished bronze. Staring in amazement as the usually stoic teen ducked his head to hide his blush, Duo couldn't help but catch his breath as a slim-fingered hand swept up to catch the stray strand of hair and flick it behind an ear. 

"Fei…" 

An abrupt clearing of the throat drowned out the braided boy's barely audible whisper, and cut quickly through the embarrassment of the other teen, snapping him out of his shock and back into reality. 

Four inquisitive stares turned to fix themselves on the half-turned figure of the Japanese pilot still standing in the doorway; two of them with a slightly more reddish-tinge than the others. "What is it?" Trowa asked. 

"Someone's coming." The slightly nasal voice of Heero replied. "One car." 

Quickly realizing the implications of an unannounced visit, all five pilots scrambled to clear the old barn, rushing to close and bolt the giant swinging doors and sprinting back to the farm house before the billowing plume of dust reached halfway down the old dirt road leading up to the estate. 

"You'd better get dressed, Duo." Quatre called to the braided pilot as he rushed past him into the bathroom, probably to gather up all of the extensive medical supplies stowed in the cupboards and hide them away someplace where they wouldn't be found if the farmhouse was searched. A lot of the stuff in there would not be easy to explain - especially with the obvious absences of prescription stickers on the more illegally accumulated medication. 

"Huh?" Duo replied intelligently to the blur of white and tan disassembling the cupboards beneath the sink. Looking down at himself, he abruptly cursed. He'd been wandering around all morning getting hugs from both Quatre and Wufei… **Wufei!** …in nothing but his flannelette P.J bottoms and a half-on singlet? No wonder he was so damn **cold**! "Damnitt!" He shouted, suddenly streaking [3] past the bathroom and its decimator, up the stairs, and into the room he shared with the Japanese pilot who was currently too busy activating extra Guardian programmes and shutting down his laptop to be of any help in finding the freaking boys misplaced clothes. "Ahhh! Where the hell are they?!?" He cried, stripping off his sleep-wrinkled pants and yanking on a dark grey pair of jeans even as he cast about for the rest of his clothes. 

"Where are what?" Heero asked, turning from his blank laptop to stare at the wild-looking American with a calmly raised brow. 

"My black duffle-jacket and turtleneck!" 

"The turtleneck is Trowa's." 

"Do I care?" The braided teen replied, ducking his head to look under his bed and hooting in triumph when the missing items were located. "How close are they?!" He shouted at the open doorway, yanking his head through the turtleneck after calling out. 

"The gate!" Quatre's voice called back, floating up the hall from somewhere downstairs. "But they don't appear to be OZ officials…" 

"Civilians." Trowa said, passing the door as he headed down to the room he shared with the blonde Arabian. "But we should secure our weapons." 

"Mufti-munchkin's?" Duo asked, slipping into the black duffle-jacket and stowing his gun and a few knives in the well-hidden pockets, then following the more heavily armed Heero out of the room and down the hall. 

"Possibly." The uni-banged pilot replied, emerging from the room he'd quickly ducked into. 

"Heero?" Duo asked. 

The Japanese pilot remained quiet for a moment as they descended the stairs and emerged into the first-floor living room where Wufei was keeping a concealed watch out one of the windows, Quatre sitting still on a couch and making an obvious effort not to twiddle his thumbs nervously. As the sound of the approaching motor vehicle's engine grew louder, the Perfect Soldier spoke. 

"We wait. If in any way they appear hostile; Quatre, Duo and I will flee the house and attempt to head for our Gundam's. Trowa and Wufei," He said, drawing the Chinese pilot's attention momentarily away from the window. "Seeming your Gundam's are in the midst of repairs there is little chance that they will not be found should the visitors be hostile. You shall remain here as defence." 

Trowa nodded wordlessly, while Wufei just turned back towards the window. Pulling back away from the reflective pane and ducking smoothly behind the folds of the curtain, he watched as the car – no, limousine pulled up out side the front of the house. 

"Identification?" Heero hissed as the sound of car doors opening and closing could be heard faintly through the walls. Four sets of eyes settled on the stoic Oriental pilot's face and waited for the tightening of his features telling them that it was indeed OZ at their front doorstep. They were all surprised when instead of furrowing, his dark brows shot up in surprise, rapid dual blinks following with a slight downward turn to his lips – not a usual reaction for Chang Wufei. 

Still blinking confusedly, the Chinese boy shook his head minutely and turned to fix his perplexed, yet slightly amused gaze on the other, even more confused pilots. 

"Not OZ." He stated, firmly, his dark eyes meeting Heero's with no hint of doubt. "Not unless they've taken to employing Barton's and Winner's sisters." 

Quatre let out a startled squeak. "M-m-my sis-sisters?" He stuttered, eyes wide. "My sisters are **here**?!" 

"Catherine?" Trowa asked, equally taken aback but just hiding it better. 

Three knocks sounded firmly at the door. Quatre and Trowa remained where they were, blinking owlishly at the others. 

"It's not polite to leave family waiting, Winner." Wufei scolded after twenty seconds of no action from either of the pilots. Another three knocks sounded. "Oh, damnitt – then I'll do it!" He snapped. 

That was it – Quatre was off, racing past Wufei towards the front door, bounding and shouting all the way across the room and snapping the other, taller boy out of his shock. 

"Coming!" The blonde Arabian shouted. "I'm coming!" [4] 

There was a cry from the other side of the door, audible despite being muffled by the thick wood. "Quatre!" 

Abruptly, the boy in question let out another startled squeak, then couldn't get the door open fast enough. 

"Ra-ra!" He shouted, throwing open the door and launching outside into the already open arms of a tall woman with blonde hair almost an exact match to his. They hugged each other enthusiastically. "Allah, I missed you!" 

"Missed you too, little one." The woman replied, ruffling his hair and planting a quick kiss on his brow. 

"Oi!" Quatre protested, blushing and smiling brightly at the same time. 

A feminine chuckle belonging to another blonde woman sounded from behind them. "Gee, Rashieka, I thought he was getting too old to be called that." 

Quatre abruptly spun out of Rashieka's arms and launched himself at the woman standing off slightly to the side. "Iria!" He cried, giving her one of his excited hugs. "How are you? Is your back all right now? I was really worried! You look okay…" 

"Easy, Quatre, easy." The older woman soothed, returning his hug. "I'm fine. A little spinal bruising, that's all." 

Quatre sighed in relief and gave her another hug. "I was worried." He repeated. 

"You're always worried." Rashieka told him. "Now are you going to invite us all in, or shall we sit out here in the cold?" 

"Oh!" Quatre cried, the edges of shame licking his features. "Oh, Allah, I'm sorry! Come in! Come in!" He held aside the door and motioned the three ladies inside. "Oh, Catherine! Hello, how are you? How's the circus?" 

The red-haired woman who had waited patiently while the Arabian pilot had greeted his family members smiled at him and nodded her head. "I'm fine thank you, Quatre. The circus is doing well." 

"Cathy." 

The knife-thrower smiled again. "Trowa." She greeted, and was immediately engulfed in the slender arms of her adopted brother. "Merry Christmas." 

"Merry Christmas." 

"So," Spoke up a voice from behind all of the well-met people in the hall. "Anyone for a hot cup of eggnog while you guys sit down and tell us how you managed to find out where we were?" Duo was standing with his fists on his hips, an amused smile on his face but an expectant look in his eyes. 

"Um…" Rashieka started as all the women shared an identical glance at each other. "Well, Iria and I received an email about eight hours ago explaining where you were and that you needed to see us, so we caught a shuttle to the WEI depot in town and there we met up with Catherine. We decided to give her a lift seeming she was coming here herself." Rashieka shrugged and shared another glance with the other two women. 

"You received the information through an email?" Heero asked, his voice blank and expression carefully controlled. 

"It wasn't from you?" 

"No." 

The next glance the women shared was startled. 

"Who did it say sent it?" 

Iria tilted her head to the side. "Someone called Red." She replied. 

Immediately all of the pilots relaxed. "Oh, that's okay then." Duo said. "It's easier to understand now." A second later the braided pilot blushed. "Oops! I completely forgot I wished for that!" 

The three women blinked in surprise when following this statement, Quatre immediately gave the slightly shorter boy an enormous hug. "Allah, Duo, thank you!" 

"Yes, thank you, Duo." Trowa said, smiling at him. 

Duo grinned embarrassedly. "Boy, I'm sure getting a lot of hugs today!" He laughed, patting the Arabian boy's back. "Makes me wanna break out the champagne." 

Rashieka looked around the living room they were congregated in. "Yeah, where is all of the party-supplies?" She asked. "Thought you would've had them all out by now…" She looked at the boys with a suspicious stare. "Actually, I thought you all would have been too drunk to even open the door when we knocked. What's up, not feeling like celebrating?" 

They all looked blankly at her. "What do you mean?" Quatre asked. "Why should we be celebrating?" 

It was the women's turn to look at the boys with disbelief. "You mean… you don't know?" Asked Catherine. 

"Know what?" Trowa asked. 

"Shit. Iria, turn on the TV." Rashieka demanded. There was a click when the older sister found the machine in question, then the boom of the speakers coming to life as the picture emerged on the screen. 

-- you can see, the stunned moment has broken. These pictures coming through now are of the celebration currently raging on L1, where just hours ago all military forces stunned the entire Human race with their sudden, simultaneous surrender. The male anchor head's voice announced, dubbed over the pictures being shown of people jumping in the streets of L1, singing and shouting and embracing each other. There was the distant sound of something thudding to the floor. 

It has been only ten hours since Romafeller collapsed under the pressure and surrendered its OZ military forces to the people, yet it is believed by most that this is indeed the end of the war. Celebrations are believed to continue on for weeks, and even now preparations are being made for memorial services to celebrate and remember the lives of those who died over the past years of conflict. L4 has already planned for the memorial service for those who perished on L5, commencing the services and celebrations in three days time. Right now the Human race is free of conflict. The colonies are free of military rule. The war is over, my friends. The war is over… 

The television blinked off with a sharp click, coinciding with the sound of something else hitting the floor. In the silence there was only the quiet fizzing of static from the blank screen of the TV. 

"This…" Heero started, the remote grasped tightly in a slightly shaking hand. "It's a trick, isn't it?" 

Iria smiled and shook her head. "It isn't." 

"You mean… it's really over?" Duo raised his head to look up at them from where he knelt on the floor. "The war is really over?" 

"It is." Iria told him. "For ten hours now, we've been at peace." 

For a moment Duo's face remained blank, as if refuting what he had been told, then slowly, the most smallest of smiles started on his face, growing wider, becoming the fullest, and brightest smile they had ever seen. He whooped once, loudly, then he whooped again and flung himself at the Chinese boy kneeling on the floor beside him. 

"Holy shit, 'Fei!" He cried. "Holy shit! It's really over, it's really fucking over! Amen! Amen!" 

Wufei's face showed pure shock for all of ten seconds then he hugged Duo back just as tightly. "Amen." He choked, fighting back the tears. 

"Amen!" Quatre cried from just above them where he was gripping Trowa's hand with all the strength he possessed, tears streaming from his face and wearing a smile to rival Duo's. 

"Amen." Replied Trowa. 

"Amen." Whispered Heero. 

"Amen!" Iria, Rashieka and Catherine shouted. 

"Now, do you want to watch more TV," Rashieka asked. "Or shall we start the drinking?" 

"How about we do both." Trowa replied slowly. It would be a while before any of the shock wore off. 

The white-blonde Arabian nodded. "Trowa, isn't it? Good idea." She said. "I'll go bring in the arsenal." 

As the tall, slender and slightly macho sister of Quatre's swaggered her way out to the car, Trowa turned his now seemingly permanently wider green eye on his boyfriend and asked in a voice that held little emotion, yet needed no answer; "She's not a normal Winner, is she?" 

Quatre laughed through the tears that still glistened on his cheeks, and shook his head. "Nope. She's my youngest sister and a breed all of her own!" 

"That's for sure." Iria agreed, coming up behind them with an armful of glasses she'd brought in from the kitchen. "Her mother was a real firecracker." The glasses all chinked together as she placed them down on a long coffee table. 

"What time did you say Romafeller surrendered?" Heero asked as he switched the TV back on, crossing to claim a chair in front of the display screen. 

"Just after midnight." Catherine replied. "L1 disarmed first, and then the other colonies followed soon after. All in all it only took a matter of two hours. They should be arresting Khushrenada soon - they already have the others." [5] 

"Trieze is still alive?" Wufei asked, somewhat startled from the floor. "I thought he would have… no, never mind." 

"Would have what, Wufei?" Duo asked from beside him, still not having moved from where he'd fallen. 

The others turned to look at him with interest. 

"I thought he would have killed himself." Wufei answered them, his voice strangely melancholy. "It seemed like something that he would do to bring about the end of the war." 

"It does." Trowa agreed, then quickly sidestepped as Quatre's youngest sister re-entered with her arms full of boxes. 

"If you've got a favourite," The white-blonde Arabian said loudly as she dumped the boxes down next to the table. "Then I probably brought it. Dig in, guys, so we can celebrate, get drunk, and play all the stupid games that go along with being inebriated!" She smiled at them all and more than a few of them were struck by her physical similarity to Quatre – even the eyes that flashed at them were the same shade of turquoise green. The personality, however, served more to remind them of a certain braided pilot than their blonde team-mate. "And don't worry too much about hangovers. Big sis here is a doctor." She threw a quick grin at the tawny-haired woman who was attempting to restrain a small smile of her own. "And before we all get started and totally forget each others names, I'm Rashieka, usually called Ra-ra. And I'm the youngest and strangest of all the Winner girls." 

"Not the strangest of all the Winners?" Duo asked, contrite but grinning despite it. 

Rashieka grinned at him. "Nope. Quatre's the only boy and personally I think that's the most strangest thing of all!" 

Duo chuckled and nodded his head. "I think I'll have to agree with you there. One boy out of twenty-nine girls? That's just freaky, dude." He leaned slightly over to the side and peered into the box beside the table. "You have any Jim Beam?" 

Rashieka delved a hand into the large box and pulled out a bottle filled with amber liquid. 

"Clear-label?" Duo asked, his indigo eyes wide. "Shit, that stuff ain't cheap, man." 

Rashieka grinned at his knowledge. "American?" she asked, her interest and an eyebrow perked. 

Duo took the bottle from her and smiled. "Yup. The name's Duo Maxwell, at your service." He did a mock little bow from the floor. "We're not really old enough to be drinking this stuff, ya know." He told her as he reached for a glass and started to fill it. 

"You're not really old enough to be what you are, either." Catherine told him as she reached into the box and pulled out a bottle of her favour. "But you are. I don't think it will matter much if you all get drunk, just this once." 

"And who are you?" Rashieka asked as she turned curious eyes to the rest of the boys, sans Duo and her brother. 

"Heero Yuy." The cobalt-eyed Japanese boy replied from where he was watching the television with an eagle-eyed determination. 

"Trowa Bloom." The tall acrobat answered in turn, gifting a small smile to the young woman at his side who gasped as he spoke his surname. 

"…Chang Wufei." The Chinese boy replied quietly as he sat on the floor and stared off into nothing. [6] 

"**Chang**?!" Rashieka suddenly shouted, and Wufei jumped like he had been struck. 

"Oh, Allah!" The older girl cried, and Wufei turned in surprise as the woman moved before him and abruptly dropped to her knees, bowing her head to him. "Allow me to offer you my condolences, Chang, and my well-wishing's for their eternal souls to be at peace." 

"Na…" Wufei stared at the bowed head of the woman before him in shock. His eyes felt wide in his face, and his hands began to tremble ever-so-slightly in his lap. "Th-thankyou." He stuttered, still partly surprised. "I… You – you can get up now." 

Rashieka rose slowly and smiled forlornly at him. "I truly am sorry, Wufei." She told him. 

The Chinese boy nodded and swallowed hard. "So am I." He gripped his hands together tightly to keep them from shaking. 

Duo noticed and cocked a concerned eyebrow. "'Fei?" He asked. "You okay, man?" 

Wufei swallowed hard once again and looked around, his eyes falling upon each of the faces turned in his direction, watching him. He could see the concern on all of them, the strongest on Duo, and the burning that had begun over his heart spread all the way through his chest. He inhaled, sharp, and somehow managed to shake his head. "No." He told him, feeling as though his lips were moving too slow for his voice. "I don't think I am." A ringing started up in his ears, and as he pushed himself up onto his feet it felt as though the floor was moving sluggishly beneath him. He'd made it partway to the door before he suddenly stopped, unable to go any further. 

The others watched him, as he swayed slightly where he stood, his fingers curled tight into fists which shook at his sides with strain. Quatre rubbed at his chest, his face pained, and Duo made to pick himself up off the floor when Wufei released a quiet, hurt sound and almost fell. 

Duo was by his side in an instant, steadying the Oriental boy and pulling him against his chest before the first, pained sob broke from his throat. 

As Wufei folded himself into Duo's arms, burying his face in his shoulder and wrapping his slender arms around his waist, Duo's eyes widened and he was struck with the realization that had been eluding him for months. 

"Shit, 'Fei." He said, sounding almost scared. "You haven't cried yet, have you?" 

He could feel Wufei's shake against his shoulder. Since that first quiet sob there had been no more, but he could feel the thin body against his trembling with the cries that needed to come out. 

"God, why not?" He whispered. 

Wufei's breath hitched, and he struggled to get the words out. "There was…no time." He replied, his voice muffled by Duo's shoulder. "I couldn't – couldn't afford to… to…" 

Duo tightened his arms around him, pressing his cheek to Wufei's head. "God, 'Fei. It's a wonder you haven't gone insane." 

"I have!" The boy in his arms cried, suddenly rocking back as if to break out of Duo's hold. The braided boy didn't let him go, though, and Wufei sunk back down against him. "I can't… Oh, God's, I can't…" 

"Sshh, 'Fei. You can. You have the time, now. It's all over. You can cry…" Duo crooned to him, rocking slightly, sharing flashing glances with the other pilots. "Cry, 'Fei… It'll make it so much easier. Believe me, 'Fei, the emptiness will go…" 

Wufei curled himself even tighter into Duo's embrace, his fingers digging in hard into the other boy's back. The tautness in his chest was winding itself ever more and more tighter… he could feel it reaching breaking point. It hurt so much… 

"They were right in front of me…" He choked out. "They – they made me leave. They were on my view screen. And then… then…" Finally, with an agonized tear it snapped, and the hot flood of tears he'd been holding back for what felt like forever overflowed and spilled down his cheeks. "Damnitt!" He cried. "They did it so they wouldn't be used against me. Bastards!" He shouted. "I fucking hate them! How could they do that to me! They were right in front of me! I didn't need another reason to fight…" His yells became swallowed by the sobbing that infused his whole body. His struggles taken over completely by the uncontrollable shaking as he was held tight in Duo's arms. His shoulders heaved, he couldn't get enough air. A low wail broke from his throat. Then the scream that had been building for weeks finally broke free. 

"My whole damn family!!!" He screamed as his legs gave out beneath him. 

Suddenly, there were more people holding him than just Duo, and more caring voices than he'd heard in so long. He wasn't aware that they were on the floor, only taking note of the voices of those holding him, telling him to let it go, that they were there for him. He could hear Trowa humming as long, slender arms that he supposed belonged to him wrapped around his waist from behind. He could smell Heero's distinctive cinnamon scent as fingers let loose his ponytail and ran through his hair. He could even hear Quatre, sweet, over-sensitive Winner crying even as he cried. And still Duo whispered to him. 

"Easy, Wufei… breathe, my dragon. No passing out, now, ya hear? That's it, that's it… it's starting to fade now, isn't it? Let what's left of it out… We're all here for you. You're not alone. We're your family… we'd never leave you… It's over now and no one can take us away…" 

And then suddenly Duo was crying. 

"No one can take us away…" Wufei whispered. Had Duo been afraid of losing them? He remembered each time they left on a mission, how misplaced the expression Duo always wore would look. The hope and fear that were hidden in his eyes. Every time… "They can't take us away…" 

Then out of the blue his tears stopped, and now he was the one whispering comforting words. Following Trowa's lead of humming, Wufei began to quietly sing one of the songs he could remember being his favourite before the war had started. And now, now that it had ended, maybe it held even more meaning to him than ever before. 

"All day long he was fighting for you, and he didn't even know your name. Young men come and young men go, but life goes on just the same. And I don't know why. Why do we keep holding on? I don't know why. Pretending to be oh so strong. Oh why? Is there something I don't know or something very wrong, with you and me, or maybe…" His voice trailed off, still thick with tears, but despite Duo's quiet, shaking sobs he could tell he was listening. "That's just the way it is." 

"There's nothing I can do." Trowa whispered from behind him. "That's just the way it is." 

Wufei managed a teary half smile. Trowa knew what he was singing about. Maybe Duo would understand as well. He hoped he would. 

"It's been your life for as long as you can remember, but you cannot fight no more. You must want to look your son in the eyes when he asks you what you did it for. I don't know why. Why do we keep holding on? I don't know why. Pretending to be oh so strong. Oh why? Is there something no one told me, something very wrong with you and me, or maybe… That's just the way it is. Nothing I can do, that's just the way it is…" 

Duo sniffed beside his ear as he trailed off, and Wufei now felt it safe enough to pull his face away from the crook of Duo's neck. As he straightened and looked up, none of the arms around him withdrew their holds, and so he kept his own around the long haired pilot's waist. His face felt hot and stiff from where the tears had begun to dry. There was a gentle throbbing at the edges of his eyes, yet as they met the reddened and still glistening eyes in front of him, whatever pain he felt began to ebb away. The indigo eyes were shining, and the clearest he had ever seen them. Red-rimmed and puffy from crying, they were almost another colour entirely, shot through with vibrant veins of amethyst that made the ambiguous emotion carried within them even more mysterious. Wufei blinked, and searched deeper into them, looking for the words they were hiding inside. 

His first glimpse was of something covered, something secretive. He pushed a little further into them and found warmth. Beyond that was light… Hope? There was very little that was cold in his eyes. All he could see was the warmth. And was that… that sparkle hidden away in the corner, by the lavender spot on his iris? Was it… it looked like… But why was there…? 

He felt the spreading of heat in his body before he even realized what it was he was seeing. It rose up from someplace behind his navel, spiralling up into his ribcage where it spread through his chest with a throbbing warmth that was not painful, though hurt just the same. He blinked again, and when his focus returned the look in Duo's eyes had gone. The burning in his chest still remained. 

Love. He had seen love in Duo's eyes. 

Slowly, the small emerging smile twisted the edges of his lips, pulling tight and cracking through the tears that had dried on his cheeks. The heat in his chest spread even further, and his heart must have skipped a beat, when his shy smile was returned back to him by the curving lips of Duo. [7] 

----- ----- -----

There was an argument going on. 

It was quiet, pushed to the side, intended not to be heard by the five boys that sat crowded together on the couch, yet listened to anyway as they watched the broadcast on the television and offered comfort to each other. It was a gentle fight, a verbal battle of relaxed words, conducted in a conversational attitude with significant undertones beyond the lounge and in the kitchen. The walls were thin, and although it was quiet, they could all hear the argument well enough. 

Wufei flinched each time that his name was mentioned. 

Duo, who sat closely beside him on the couch, allowed his hand to drop between them and land lightly upon Wufei's. Turning his palm, he twined his fingers with the other pilot's, holding his hand and giving it a slow, gentle squeeze. He felt a tug on his heart when the pressure was returned. 

The announcer on the channel that they were watching had changed, switching to a live broadcaster from L3, who was describing the surrender that had happened just five meters away from his own front door. His report rang out into the quiet room, all of the pilots silent as they watched it, and through it the snippets of conversation beyond filtered through. 

"--he needed it, Rashieka. You could see it in his eyes." 

The leader of the company, a Lt. Commander Tannins, not much later admitted to numerous war crimes against various captives, which went against the code of the Geneva Convention set down hundreds of years ago and held-- 

"I know, I know. But it hurt him, Iria. I wish I didn't have to." 

"He was breaking, child. You did what was right. Stop abusing yourself for it." 

Beside him, Duo felt Wufei tense, and he once again tried to reassure the Oriental boy, squeezing his hand and pulling his arm in close to his side. 

--also admitted to having held captive ex Alliance soldiers and approving drug testing upon them. Trials will have to soon be set up for the-- 

"I still shouldn't have done it." 

"Shut up, Ra-ra. It's time we all got drunk." 

"You know," Said Quatre, interrupting the end of his sisters' other room argument. "We haven't seen footage of Trieze, yet. When was he supposed to have been brought into custody?" 

"About five minutes ago." Heero replied. He was sitting on the other side of Duo against the arm of the couch. He was pressed in on either side, but felt comfortable with the enclosure. He was paying a slight amount of attention to the television reports, and to the conversations surrounding him, but mostly he was fixated on wondering where it was that Father Christmas had sent Relena. He had no doubt that she was gone now. After seeing what 'Red' was capable of he had very little reservations about anything deemed impossible, as the Relena threat had seemed until most recently. He knew that the being known as Santa Clause would not have killed her, however. He wondered if he would ever know the location of where she'd been sent. [8] 

His musings were interrupted when Quatre's sisters returned to the lounge, and a bottle of alcohol was swooped up out of the box and deposited into his lap. 

"You look like a rum kind of guy." Rashieka said to him, cradling her own bottle - a squat-shaped one – that looked like some sort of liqueur. She turned away from him and sat down on the floor, resting her back up against his lower legs. "You don't mind?" She asked. 

He shook his head. "Is the rum good?" He asked. 

"It's Coruba." She replied. "Good is an understatement." 

"Hey," Spoke up Duo from beside him. "Someone wanna pass me my Jimmy? Oh, and the Midori, too, thanks. Ooooh thanks!" He replied as Rashieka passed them to him from her position on the floor beside the box. 

Wufei heard Duo ask for the alcohol, then felt his hand let go as the braided teen reached for the bottles. Barely half a second later and a tall bottle of green liquid was plonked down into his lap. 

"You need to get drunk, my friend." Duo said. "Have some Midori." 

"It's green." Wufei looked up at him with eyes still red-rimmed from crying. 

Duo was grinning. "Why do you think it's called 'Midori'?" He said, and then reached again for Wufei's hand. 

It took them all half an hour to become intoxicated, and by that time the police forces had managed to locate Kushrenada and arrest him. They were a silent group as the police lead the man away, but couldn't hold in their jubilation when five minutes later footage of Tsuberov [9] being taken into custody graced the view screen. The day progressed quickly from then, the drinking and the news bulletins slowly tapering off until the group moved outside to sit on the veranda, the television still on and volume turned up high so that it was audible. Evening fell quickly, too, and by the time the sun had fully set everyone was back inside the house, curled up on the sofa or in armchairs, wrapped in blankets and watching a late night movie, the glow of the fire in the hearth lighting their faces. 

Duo yawned quietly and blinked his eyes open from the corner of the couch where he was nearly falling asleep. Looking around he saw that Heero and Iria appeared to be the only ones awake; Quatre curled up against Trowa at the other end of the couch. The European had drunken an awfully large amount that afternoon, so it was no wonder that he was now dead to the world. And Quatre always went to sleep early. Duo could see Rashieka curled up on a mat in front of the fire, and Iria was sitting in the arm chair besides Heero, both intently focussed upon the film playing on the screen. And Wufei… 

Was missing. 

Duo levered himself up into a sitting position, and ran his eyes across the room again. Again, there was no Wufei. The space between him and Quatre was empty. Even the thick blanket that the Chinese pilot had been wrapped up in earlier was gone. 

"Heero?" He asked softly, looking at the Japanese boy's profile. 

"Hn?" 

"Where's Wufei?" 

"Outside." 

Duo sighed. At least Wufei hadn't gone out there without the blanket. The town they were in may have been too close to the ocean for snow, but it didn't stop it from getting cold enough for it to seem like it should be snowing. Making very little sound he unfolded his legs and slipped onto his feet, leaving the couch silently with his woollen blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. 

"I'll go out and see him." He said, and heard Heero acknowledge him in his wordless way. 

"Hn." 

The air was motionless on the other side of the door when he opened it, the only sign of movement from outside was the flickering of the town lights in the distance, and the sudden creeping of chill as it crawled in from the darkness and stole the warmth from inside the house. Stepping over the threshold Duo could feel it biting into his cheeks, and nibbling at his fingers which in response pulled the blanket tighter around him. Quickly, he closed the door behind him, still managing to keep it quiet even in his haste to keep the warmth inside safe from the sluggish but vicious cold that filled the night air. He could see very little in the darkness at first, and as he waited for his eyes to adjust he moved out further onto the veranda, stepping into a pool of light cast out through the living room window. His shadow stretched long and thin across the wooden boards, kinking over the railing and then splashing along the lawn, the rectangle of firelight pale and flickering against the grass, its edges almost indiscernible. Just beyond where the cast light was cut off by the window frame, Duo saw something move. A turn of the head, reflections of the moon caught in dark, smooth hair, a silhouette outlined by the backdrop of moonlit grass and trees. Wufei. 

Duo moved out towards him, stepping down from the veranda quietly and walking over to where the oriental pilot stood in the centre of the lawn, huddled inside the warmth of his own blanket. As Duo neared he noticed the shorter pilot shivering, and he stopped up close to him, pressing his shoulder against Wufei's in an effort to share what little body heat that could be felt through their thick blankets. He wanted to do more, but he was still unsure of where Wufei stood with him. Throughout all of the dramatic highs and lows of the day they had never gotten around to discussing any of it. 

"Hey." Duo said, only to break the silence. 

"Hey." 

"Couldn't sleep?" 

"Tried to." The Chinese pilot replied. "But too much has happened today. My mind is too unsettled to rest." 

Duo nodded and turned his head to look at him, catching with his eyes the moonlit profile of Wufei's face. The pale light edged the softness of his rounded features, ghosting over his nose and forehead, dusting his lashes, and barely even brushing the fullness of his lower lip. 

"Is that why you're out here? It's cold." 

The corner of Wufei's lips lifted a fraction as he turned to look at Duo. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes, though. 

"Yes. And yes." He replied. Suddenly, a frown graced his lips, and twisted gently at his brows. His lips parted as if to say something, and for a moment he looked as if he were hesitating. Duo watched and waited patiently. If Wufei was going to say anything, he would. Eventually, resolve flickered across his soft Asian features, and he shifted his full, questioning gaze to Duo's eyes. 

"Was… was it you who wished for a new sheath for my sword?" 

Duo blinked, mildly surprised at the question. "Um, yeah." He replied, fumbling a little over his tongue. "Your old one was looking a little beat up so I thought that maybe you could do with a new one. I'm sorry if you don't like it or anything, but I thought it would be a good present, yanno?" 

Wufei smiled again, and this time it brushed his eyes. "It is a good present. I'm very thankful." 

Duo smiled in response. 

Long minutes passed in silence, and Duo stood by Wufei's side, looking up at the unclouded night sky, naked and pregnant with the stars that dusted its skin like tiny sequins. Shooting stars passed overhead, flashing through the edges of his vision, too fast to trace, and gone before he could even try to. He still wished on each of them, though, silly little wishes that may or may not have applied to anything that was happening at the moment. 

Wufei's voice startled him out of one of his more whimsical wishes, cutting through the chilled air and drawing his attention away from the flickering sky above. 

"I want to go." 

Duo blinked confusedly for a moment, then flicked his eyes back up to the area of sky that Wufei was looking at. Understanding dawned then, and he nodded. 

"We'll all go." He replied, looking up at the sky, eyes fixed on one spot amongst many, shining brighter and larger than those around it. His mind was fixed elsewhere, though, where Wufei's was, on that small place in space where another spot, equally bright was supposed to be, but was no longer. "We have to thank your family for allowing us to fight alongside you." 

Wufei broke his gaze of the stars even as Duo did his, both turning to face each other; and Duo was gifted with another one of Wufei's small, hesitant smiles. It reached fully up to his eyes this time, and shone in them with a pleased glow that coaxed a smile from Duo in return. 

Duo held the smile, until the beating of his heart grew too loud in his ears and he had to break the silence. 

"Can I kiss you now, Wufei?" He blurted. 

It was Wufei's turn to blink confusedly, and as he stared up at Duo with wide eyes, a faint embarrassed blush darkened the skin along his cheeks. Hesitantly, he nodded. "Yes." He replied. 

And Duo wasted no time. 

As Wufei felt Duo's arms wrap around him, enclosing his body in the cocoon of his blanket, he allowed his eyes to fall closed as the heat from Duo's breath rushed over his lips and cheek, making the strands of hair that had fallen loose from his tie dance across his skin. He paid them no mind though, as Duo's lips were suddenly pressed against his own, and the first of their kisses was taking place with a slow languorous power that had him sinking further into the American's embrace, and slowly opening his mouth to Duo's. Somewhere along the timeless minutes that followed Duo's braid managed to find itself in Wufei's hands, and the blanket that had been wrapped around the Oriental pilot on the grass at his feet. 

Well… Wufei thought through the haze that fogged his mind. He'd gotten one of his Christmas wishes, even if he hadn't written it down. 

.

.

--===THE END===--

--- --- --- --- --- 

A/N 

[1] = Don't we wish…

[?] = Not exactly true… History distorts things and there's a great deal of time between Saint Nicholas and AC196. Of course, this also excuses me from not knowing as well… eheh eheh eh…

[2] = Ah, yes… Edgar Bergen: And at the top of that hill, overlooking all of Happy Valley, stood--

Goofy: My red barn. [!.]

[!.] = Stupid "Fun, Fun, Fun and Fancy Free"…

[3] = We wish even more…

[4] = Hentai.

[5] = Not referred to as 'General' because at this point he's incarcerated, or to put it nicely, under house arrest. It usually means that all titles are frozen and beaten to tiny shards with a giant hammer. Why am I explaining? You all know this already!

[6] = I'm going to make 'Fei exceedingly OOC now! Kukukukukuku….

[7] = See? I told you so! ^-^ No flaming me, people! I **SAID** this was AU!

[8] = This'll be covered in a side-story. 

[9] = I really do not like this guy. Don't think the boys do either, much.

Yeah, this took absolutely forever to write, and because I kept switching between stories while I wrote this, it's completely and horribly all over the place and utterly disjointed. It has more mood swings than me at the movies after eating large amounts of Denny's nachos. (Yeeeeuck! Those things are gross. And where the hell's the meat? Nachos should have meat. Meeeeeeeat!) Anyway, despite that I hope you enjoyed it. And please don't review if you don't like it. It's a waste of time, really. 


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